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parkruns

This month saw our members complete 304 parkruns across 72 parkruns and 46 different locations. International tourism included Johnson’s tours going for the Scandanavian special day event (on a Thursday) where 8 of our members visited Ekebergsleetta parkrun before the Sarah D and Dawn went off to do Gdansk two days later whilst the rest did Zamek w Malborku.

Helen Griffiths celebrated her 50th parkrun (over 10 years after her first) whilst Lee Dunbar-Bowen celebrated his 50th parkrun later in the month. Gwyneth Steddy, Emyr Bissmire, Wayne Hayhurst and Darija Keenor all ran their 100th parkruns.

On the speedy side of things, John Burridge was first finisher at Aberfields despite recovering from knee issue, Jamie Verran set a new club record for most first finishes at the most different parkrun venues with first finishes at Trelai and Aberfields. Carys and Alison picked up female first finishes at Maesteg during the month, whilst Bethan Moor was first female at Cosmeston Lakes parkrun.

Races

May saw the start of the 5K season with several big events during the month. We started off with the Cardiff Race for Victory which has become the biggest 5K race in Wales over the past few years. This year saw a record 33 members take on the speedy course around Whitchurch which has led to several PB’s for club members over the past couple of years. New member, Dan Richards was our first runner across the line in 16:40, catapulting him straight into number 4 on the clubs all time fastest 5K runners. We had 8 runners come in under the 20 minute mark in a field that saw hundreds of runners achieve the same feat. Carys Bissmire was our first female in 22:29 on the same course she set her PB a year earlier. She was closely followed by Claire DB.

A few days later was the first of the Swansea Bay (Paul Popham) 5K series with usually calm conditions on the coastal out and back helping several runners achieve PB’s including Rhodri Thomas with his first sub 19, finishing in 18:57. Rhys Bradley ran a superb 22:49 PB, Megan Rand bagged a PB of 27:20, Teri Leigh Roche came in with a 28:00, and our 2022 Runners Runner Laura Worrall smashed her PB with a 38:36.

We also had the first SSAFA 5K event of the year with a highly competitive field where half of the runners finished in sub 20! Like the Race for Victory 5K and Swansea Bay series, the SSAFA course definitely lends itself to PB attempt and this race saw some incredible performances. Of our 13 runners on the night, Jake Tasker was keeping himself fresh for some upcoming events but still ran 16:45 for our first finisher across the line. Jamie Verran popped up with 18:21 PB and Niki Puleio helped pace Scott Gray to a 18:41 PB. Katie Plimmer continued her outstanding improvements at all distances with a 21:19 PB and out of nowhere, Sarah Davies smashed her PB by over 30 seconds, joining just a handful of female runners in the club with a sub 23 time, finishing in 22:54.

The big 10K event of the month was the Cardiff Bay 10K which attracted 46 of our members. Dan Richards led us home in 35:08 which puts him 3^rd on our all time list at that distance. Jamie Verran ran his first sub 40 with a 39:44 just a few weeks after running a 40:19 at Newport 10K and just a week after being one of only two members at Caerphilly 10K along with Fiona Drysdale. Another member in form is Ceri Jones who ran a sub 45 PB followed by PB’s for three relatively new members, Jonathan Matthews, Ben McCrum and Gemma Richards. Lee Dunbar-Bowen, James Marsh, John Batchelor, Megan Buckle, Caryn Hicks and Ria Ross complete the PB celebrations for this event. For those that didn’t fancy a flat 10K, we had three members at the Gorseinon 10K on the same day with Wayne Hayhurst, Rya Davie and Melinda Thomas taking on the bumpy course down West.

At the longer distances, Marina Konstantinova ran the Riga Marathon in 4:57, Alexis Barrett completed her first ultra along with her husband Paul at the HOWUM Pegasus 30 miler whilst Ashley Howells also completed his first ultra with the St Iltyds Ultra in West Wales the venue for his.

Kevin Raymond continued his hilly training with the Ras y Gader Fell Race and the 23 mile Preseli Beast. We had a further 6 runners in the 11 mile Preseli Beast Bach where Jake Tasker claimed another course record with solid performances from our trail championship regulars Katie Plimmer, Claire DB, David Sheard, Melanie Thomas and Lee DB.

Jake’s performances at recent trail championship events earned him a call up to represent Wales, creating another piece of history for the club as our first ‘international’ athlete. Jake was invited to run in France at the 26k Trail de Guerledan where he finished 3^rd overall and as first Welsh athlete and helped Wales win the team prize.

BCRL

The second fixture of this years Bridgend League took us to Rest Bay where we had 87 members for the Friday evening race. Despite saying he was taking it easy ahead of a course record attempt at Rack Raid less than 48 hours later, Jake Tasker still comfortable won the race in 16:25 making it a hat trick of wins at the event. Strong performances from our top 10 men and women as well as the big overall participation meant we scored really well but did come second to Bridgend again who have more or less doubled their numbers participating so far this year.

Chair’s Runners of the Month

We all remember the first time we did something significant.  When it comes to running, each milestone achieved is a cause for personal celebration.  For some, the pursuit of a new discipline or new distance are the things that provide that much sought uplift.

In May, two firsts caught my eye.  Not necessarily because of the distance.  While admirable, it’s about the journey – because quite often the process is the worthy achievement with the final event being the “victory lap” as you’ll often hear it called.

These two stories are very different but, in some ways, similar.  A focused preparation that saw the hours go in.  Whether other events were targets along the way – the miles were being committed.  For one, it was multi-discipline training that strengthened the legs and built the endurance.  For the other it was the steadily building miles.  Every time I looked up there was another run completed.  Looking leaner and getting stronger.  Each building to their end goal.  The goals were very similar.  First ultra marathon.   A journey into the unknown.  What happens to the legs when marathon distance is completed and the extra miles add additional wearyness to the legs.  When every bit of energy is spent and additional fuelling is needed to sustain forward movement.  Forward they did move.  With guts to stand on the start line and determination to reach the finish.  Phoenix Spirit flowing through their veins as their goals were realised having trusted in the process that let them dare to dream.  

My Chair’s runners of the month for May, running different events but each longer than a marathon, are Alexis Barrett and Ashley Howells!  Well done both! I have loved following the respective journeys and I’m full of pride for your amazing achievements!! Such huge achievements and I’m excited to see what the next challenges are going to be!  

parkruns

April saw our members notch up 310 parkrun finishes across 71 parkruns with a massive 52 different parkrun locations. International tourism included Kris Denholm at Krakow parkrun, and Karl Johnson at Zuiderpark whilst social member Mark Teesdale ran at Millennium parkrun in Canada. April 20th saw a number club tourism record set with our members running at 21 different parkruns!

The second weekend of April saw our Zero to Hero’s graduate at Aberfields parkrun with 53 members turning out for the occasion. Well done to all our new Z2H graduates.

On the speedy side of parkrun, Jacob Tasker picked up another couple of first finishes at Aberfields and Sharpham Estate plus Niki Puleio had a first place finish at Maesteg. There were several first female finishes with Carys at Maesteg, Marina at Maesteg, Claire DB at Brynaman and Sarah D at Aberfields.

Races

A much lower turnout than previous years for the Vale series of races although we did have 5 runners in the 10 miler, Angharad Hinam, Nick and Linda Harris in the 18.5 miler, and Carl Walsh in the 32 mile ultra.

The Samtampa Memorial 7K in Porthcawl saw 11 of our members take on the course with Jamie Verran finishing 3rd overall. Later in the month, 12 members took on the Bluebell Blunder 7K where I was the first finisher for the club followed by Claire DB.

Just one 10K in the month which saw 15 of our members take on the Newport course. Jamie Verran was our first runner across the line in a PB of 40:19. There were also PB’s for John Batchelor whilst it was a very good day for some of our past and present Zero to Hero runners with Ria Ross, Caryn Hicks, Lisa Ryan, Julie Greenman, Claire Miles and Kate Teasdale all running 10K PB’s.

There were a few Half Marathons in the month with Tom Mahoney (1:29) and James Marsh (2:04) picking up PB’s at the London Landmarks Half with Darija Keenor and Vickie Blake also running the event. Jake Tasker bagged himself another win at the Red Kite Challenge Half with Katie Plimmer also completing the challenging multi-terrain, hilly course. We had 12 runners at the Newport Half Marathon that is now held alongside the 10K and Marathon. Emyr Bissmire was our first runner across the line in 1:33 whilst there were PB’s for Carys Bissmire (1:45), Willow Hughes (1:48), Ben McCrum (1:48), Arwen Rees (1:54) and Ben Batchelor (2:03).

The major events of April were the marathons, starting off with 15 members at the London Marathon. Aled Jenkins – an unfamiliar name to most as he’s only recently signed up for the club sent shockwaves through the club as he broke the stranglehold Jacob has off all the club records running 2:30:40! Niki Puleio set off with Aled Hughes to try and help him break 3 hours after two near misses in the past 12 months or so. Again, Aled was on track but the time just slipped away towards the end. Niki finished in 3:00 with Aled in 3:03 and Paul Smith who has previously broken the 3 hour mark finishing in 3:08. Despite a very injury interrupted build up, Dai James finished in a very respectable 3:37 whilst Martin Beard bagged himself a PB of 3:46. Adam Kearns, Sarah Davies, Wayne Hayhurst, Nick Harris, Gail Newell and Nige Rees were next up before Jo Rowling completing her first marathon and finally our returning member, Sian Tossell.

There was drama at the Newport Marathon where a few days after the race, it was found that the course was 276m too long so times were adjusted which are the ones I’m including here. Gareth Richards was our first runner across the line despite having been out of action with a chest infection in the weeks leading up to the race – his time of 3:11 was just outside his PB set last year. Toby Kearns, Neil Ridley, Danny Ridley and Robert Green were next up before PB’s for Nicola Veasey, Kaye Pedler and Rya Davies who all came in together in the adjusted time of 4:48.

Before both these events, Heather Morgan followed up her presentation night award winning marathon from last year by completing the Brighton Marathon in 5:40.

BCRL is back

The Bridgend County Running League returned with it’s first fixture for the 2024 season at Sandy Bowl to an incredible response. Every club turned up with huge numbers but we still managed to top the lot with an unbelievable 101 members crossing the finish line. It’s only the fourth time we have had over 100 members finish at one event. There was a surprise in store with the winner not being an Ogmore Phoenix runner for the first time since 2019, however, our speedy men and women did their bit and alongside the huge turnout, we finished second overall to a rejuvenated Bridgend AC who appear to be out for revenge after our team wins in the past two years. It was a particularly fantastic performance by our top 10 girls who outscored Bridgend and Porthcawl for the first time since the new scoring system has been in place.

Chair’s Runners of the month

As I wrote last month, we’re now entering the Spring marathon season and it feels appropriate to honour members who have completed the distance with an admirable story to tell.

My first choice has had an incredibly arduous journey to the event of note.  A serious injury put pay to running of any kind.  In fact, even walking was serious limited.  It was a long journey back – a journey that is as much a mental battle as it is physical.  It’s a slow process – patience is a virtue here – and there are always challenges along the way.   It takes a strong will to stay determined through that process and one way to try and ensure that the end goal is reached – is to set one.  Sometimes it needs to be big.  Big enough that just getting sorted won’t fulfil it – look beyond the good outcome and target something that will be a challenge beyond full recovery.  Nothing like setting a challenge – and this was going to be a marathon – her second!  Recovery was slow – and long – but it was progressive.  Healing took place and she rolled with the setbacks and continued to strengthen until it was possible to move properly again and run.  Steadily building – exercising caution not to overdo it – and working towards the goal.  All of the commitment paid off and we were wowed by the achievement when it came with a certainty that was never doubted after the incredible dedication shown to the challenge.  Brighton marathon – achievement unlocked!  Again, I’m in awe.  People are amazing and none more-so than my first choice Chair’s Runner of the Month who I’m delighted to share is Heather Morgan.  Well done Heather – amazing job that will always stand as an example of how it should be done!

My second choice is a stalwart.  Here since the start.  There have been periods of sporadic commitment to running goals throughout that time.   Sometimes distance – sometimes speed. Focus wavered.  But it’s been noticed that, for some time, the focus has been consistent.  Times have steadily been coming down.  Goals were being set and training was dedicated towards them.  That sensible approach that’s needed to make big differences in the outcome.  It’s difficult when you’ve run for many years to start making improvements once again. Times tend to plateau and the effort required to bring times down again can often be hampered by the inevitable impact of aging.  When it does – hard work has been at the forefront of the process and it is worthy of accolade.  Inspired by this renewed focus at short and long distance, and in particular the marathon, I am delighted to award my Chair’s male runner of the month to Aled Hughes.  Keep that focus up Aled!  Looking forward to seeing where it leads. 

A five Saturday parkrun month meant some huge figures with 328 finishes across 79 parkrun events with an incredible 51 different parkrun venues. We almost completed the parkrun alphabet between us in March with the only letter missing not being one you would expect like a Q, U, Y or Z – we didn’t do a D parkrun which you would assume would be relatively common. Anyway – International tourism included Fiona Drysdale at Krakow in Poland, Jay and Toni Howells at Zalew Wrzesinski parkrun also in Poland, and Darija Keenor at Inch Beach in Ireland. Whilst it’s part of parkrun UK, we also had Gwyneth Steddy and Angharad Rees at Omagh parkrun in Northern Ireland.

It seemed like a month for alphabet chasing with Dawn and Sarah travelling to Upton House, the Harris family visiting Quakers Walk, whilst Jo and I went to Yarborough Leisure Centre parkrun which completed my UK alphabet.

For the first time in many months, we didn’t have any first overall finishers at parkrun but Carys Bissmire was first lady at Maesteg with Arwen Rees second lady in the same event. Dawn Wright ran her 100th parkrun with Aberfields being the venue whilst Ceri Jones ran his 50th parkrun at Porthcawl.

Races

Ten members took on the Rhayader Round the Lakes 30K which many have described as a ‘mini Snowdon’ with it being a hilly road race with stunning scenery. Although this year, it probably trumped even Snowdonia for it’s extreme weather with runners having to battle though driving wind and snow. The post race photos with ice literally formed on runners hair and faces were quite something! Of course, not even this can stop Jake Tasker taking the win by a significant margin after a much closer battle in the same race last year. I don’t always list every runner but I’ll make an exception this time – well done to Danny Ridley. Chris Richards, Ken Salvatore, Paul Barrett, Melanie Thomas, Simon Poole, Katie Plimmer, Alexis Barrett and Kaye Pedler. There was also a 10K in no less brutal conditions so well done to Kris Denholm, Rosie Salvatore, Melinda Thomas, Sian Jenkins, Julie Ransom and Shawn Cullen who were probably all very relieved they’d gone for the 10K option!

There were lots of races with just one or two members taking part with Leanne Parsons running the Margam 10K, Kris Denholm running the Teifi 10 miler, Danny Ridley running the Saturn Running Half Marathon, Melanie Thomas and Simon Poole ran the Brechfa Trail Half Marathon, Neil Ridley, Kris Denholm and Angharad Hinam ran the the Merthyr Half Marathon and Wayne Hayhurst and Gail Newell ran the Great Welsh Half.

There were several other Half Marathons in the month with Jacob having to settle for second at the Forest of Dean Spring Half Marathon where he ran a phenomenal 1:10:40 on the undulating multi-terrain course. It was also a British Trail Championship race with some very high level competition. We had 6 other members at the event with Katie Plimmer our first female across the line. Martin Beard, Claire DB and Lee DB ran at the Lisbon Half Marathon which is part of the Super Six Half Marathon Series series alongside Cardiff Half Marathon. After the dismal wet weather in Wales for what seems like the past 4-5 months, it would have been a bit of a shock to the system for our 3 runners as temperatures were well into the mid to high 20’s for the event. On the final day of the month, 5 of our members ran at the Cardiff Taff Trail Half.

The Marathons ran in March were some of the highlights of the month. Aled Hughes had be super-focussed on training for the LA Marathon but unfortunately things didn’t quite go to plan despite still finishing in a time of 3:24:56. Carl Walsh achieved another world-class milestone as he completed the Antarctica Marathon putting him amongst a very select group of runners to have run a marathon on all seven continents. Emma Loyns took on the super-challenging Ras Dewi Sant Marathon for the 4th time. At the Great Welsh Marathon. our young superstar Angelo ‘Nico’ Doria ran 02:56:59 on his debut marathon becoming only the 6th member in the history of the club to run under sub 3 hours and is by far the youngest to do so at just 19 years old. Gareth Richards ran a PB of 3:10:30 to beat an outstanding over 50’s club record that Kevin Raymond had held for almost 9 years having run 3:18:46 at the same event (but a different course) in 2015. It’s mind blowing that the recent changes to Good For Age times for London Marathon mean that neither Nico or Gareth made the qualifying time for their respective age groups despite these phenomenal performances. Wayne Randall followed up his Half Marathon PB at Llanelli just a few weeks earlier with a Marathon PB of 3:55:20, whilst Emma Loyns completed her first marathon as a pacer coming in just under her allocated 4:30.

Finally, there was the final fixture of the West Glam XC league at Penllergar Woods. Unfortunately the fixture clashed with a couple of other events and more than 20 of our female OPR members on a weekend away so we ended up with just 4 men and 3 ladies for this one. Fortunately, it appears that unless there’s a restructure, then both the men and women have done enough to stay in their respective divisions for next year.

Presentation Night

Another fantastic presentation night was held at Tondu Cricket Club with the social committee stepping up yet again to provide us with a great venue, decorations, food and party atmosphere. Our Chair, Chris Pratt, put together an incredible presentation with video’s and photo’s documenting our year and video’s and captions for every winner on the night. I helped present some of the unbelievable stats for the year whilst Sian Jenkins was on hand to interview the winners as they came up to collect their awards which were presented by Alexis Barrett. Club milestone t-shirts were handed out by Fiona which meant that over 40 members went away with either an award and / or a milestone t-shirt on the night.

Onto the winners

Runner’s Runner – Jake Tasker

Runner’s Runner 2nd place – Jamie Verran

Runner’s Runner 3rd place – Tammie Baker

Outstanding achievement – Carl Walsh

Spirit of the Phoenix – Jay Rhys Howells

Chairman’s award – Gareth Jenkins

Club Runner – Jake Tasker

Female Trail Champion – Jade Bazylkiewicz

Female trail championship 2nd place – Sarah Davies

Female trail championship joint 3rd place – Katie Plimmer

Female trail championship joint 3rd place – Claire Dunbar-Bowen

Male Trail Champion – Jake Tasker

Male Trail Championship 2nd place – David Sheard

Male Trail Championship 3rd place – Lee Dunbar-Bowen

Club champion – Jayne Bissmire

Club championship 2nd place – Ria Ross

Club championship 3rd place – Siân Jenkins

Female Ultra Marathon – Emma Loyns

Female Ultra Marathon – Melanie Thomas

Male Ultra Marathon – Gareth Richards

Female Marathon – Heather Morgan

Male Marathon – Jake Tasker

Super Veteran Female – Denise Bradley

Super Veteran Male – Keith Coleman

Veteran Female – Claire Dunbar-Bowen

Veteran Male – Aled Hughes

Senior Female – Carys Bissmire

Senior Male – Jake Tasker

Most Improved Female – Katie Plimmer

Most improved Male – Toni Howells

Female Newcomer – Bethan Moor

Male Newcomer – Danny Ridley

Male Newcomer – Angelo Nico Doria

Zero to Hero – Caryn Hicks

Zero to Hero – Ria Ross

It was our biggest year yet in terms of the number of awards handed out. Well done to Jake Tasker on securing the top prize of Runners Runner, becoming only the second member in the clubs history to win it twice – the other being Nick Harris. Jake’s haul of 5 awards takes him above Denise Bradley for most in the history of the club with 11 in total (in just 3 years). Gareth Richards and Claire Dunbar-Bowen who both won on the night are on 8 each. However, it was great to see 28 different winners on the night including several winning their first awards with the club.

Chair’s Runners of the Month

March sees Spring arrive and it ebbs closer to the traditional Spring marathon season which often dictates the routine of our longer distance runners.  But we acknowledge we have runners with targets which vary wildly in distance and so the season, for many, sees a plethora of events appear on the scene to target.  

One constant all year is parkrun – it’s there for us all on a Saturday morning at 9am, come rain or shine, and it fulfils such a huge variety of slots in our routine.  For some it provides the mechanism for a timed 5k – to provide that benchmark in their journey – and for many achieving a first finish provides a huge lift.

My first choice is someone who has had her fair share of the top spot. Running is so much about the journey, but you’ll also here me extol the power of running to lift the mind and pipping everyone to the finish can have that outcome.  I’m full of admiration for runners who work hard through their journey while building and nurturing a family.  When that is the case our time is consumed and quite often commitment to running is heavily impacted.  In the month of collecting the Senior Female award for an amazing year in 2023, she collected another couple of first finishes and continues to stay competetive and committed.  I’m delighted to award my first Chair’s Runner of the Month for March to Carys Bissmire.  Keep pushing and inspiring us Carys – while devoting yourself to your wonderful family!

My second choice this month is a bounce-back story.  We have had several members whose journey has been hampered by illness.  Often life is put on hold through treatment and recuperation.  A recent initiative that runs alongside parkrun seizes on the fact that active recovery can help to strengthen the path to better physical and mental wellbeing.  When allowed to do so, my next choice showed similar resolve to his last appearance in these accolades, several years ago.  Dedication to doing it right.  Doing it as prescribed.  But doing it.  Not letting it slip.  When the body allowed, doing what he could.  Steadily building through the stages back to full activity.  Recognising the worth and then embracing good practice to make full use of it.  Positivity exuding and inspiring us as the journey back gathers momentum.  So good to see.  Totally inspired I am delighted to award my second Chair’s Runner of the Month for March to Shawn Cullen.  Well done Shawn – keep up the good work!

parkruns

February saw our members complete 261 parkruns across 59 parkruns with 32 different locations. Overseas tourism included Jo and I at Caferella parkrun in Rome, Denise Bradley at Bushy parkrun in Dublin, Helen Griffiths at Navan parkrun in Ireland, and Emma and Rob Loyns at Jamiaca Pond parkrun in Boston, USA. Emma was also running her 100th parkrun whilst in Boston.

Other highlights in the month include Johnson’s tours taking a mini-bus load of Phoenix runners to Oaklands parkrun. Claire Goldsworthy ran her first tourism parkrun after her first 243 were all at Porthcawl with University Parks the venue. There were overall first finishes in the month for Jake Tasker at Aberfields and Jamie Verran at Cosmeston Lakes whilst Carys Bissmire was first lady at Maesteg.

Races

There were a couple of XC races with Gareth Battle and myself the only OPR members running at the Gwent League Margam fixture which was probably one of the muddiest XC events I’ve ever done. We did have a better attendance just a couple of miles down the road from Margam Park at Kenfig Nature Reserve where there was a lot less mud but a lot more sand for the West Glam fixture which saw 15 members running. Jake Tasker took the victory whilst Jade B was our first lady across the line.

Jake took another win at the Reverse 10 where he broke his own club record for 10 miles with a staggering 52:45. Claire DB ran a PB of 1:21:22 whilst Lee DB made it a great day for the Dunbar-Bowen’s with a PB of 1:36:36. Katie Plimmer finished in 1:33:33.

The clubs trail championship fixture for February were the Caerphilly Trail races which depending on your fondness of mud could either be described as glorious or horrendous – it was extremely muddy and slippery underfoot by all accounts. In the 5K, Sarah Davies was 3rd overall and 1st lady in a time of 40:59 which probably goes some way to showing just how tough conditions were. Bev Sheard also completed the 5K. Six other members had the pleasure of doing double that distance through the mud in the 10K with Jade our first lady followed closely by Claire Dunbar-Bowen.

Five members took on a much more flatter, road 10K with now long-standing Llanelli Half Marathon adding the distance to their event. Wayne Hayhurst was our first finisher followed by Phill and Steph Iveson. Jon Batchelor and Helen Griffiths completed our runners in the 10K. In the Half Marathon, Gareth Richards ran a speedy 1:26 whilst Connor Panting ran a 1:28:01 PB. Unbelievably, Toby Kearns ran exactly the same time as his PB from Cardiff Half last year with a 1:29:14. Wayne Randall ran a 1:39 PB – Wayne’s HM PB was over 2 hours 30 minutes when he first joined the club. Kris Denholm paced 2 hours at the event.

On the same day, Jo and I were in Naples for the Napoli Half Marathon where I ran 1:50 on what was my 40th birthday and Jo ran 2:16. In a third different country on the same day, Chris Richards was running the Bath Two Tunnels Half Marathon which he completed in 1:53.

Carl Walsh was our only runner in the Brecon to Cardiff ‘Extreme’ edition. The organisers, Run-Walk-Crawl decided to mark the anniversary of the traditional 44 miler which normally follows the Taff Trail from Brecon to Cardiff (or actually Nantgarw) with a special ‘extreme’ alternative version. This alternative was nearer to the original distance of 50 miles but featured a route that included numerous off road climbs through the mountains. Carl finished in just over 13 hours.

Chair’s Runners of the Month

My first choice has shown great prowess ever since becoming a member.  Setting high standards for herself, she strives to achieve great things – and always does!  Sometimes self-exterted pressure can weigh heavy and our own expectations of great things in the outcome can mean that even when we achieve, we don’t always celebrate it.  Others look on and are inspired – but that doesn’t mean that the outcome will inspire us ourselves.  Success can be measured in so many ways and embracing every different way heightens our enjoyment of running.  I’ve seen that steadily enter the mindset of my first choice.  Embracing when it goes well – as it does so often – but also learning to accept that when it doesn’t – the process and the sheer enjoyment of being out there is enough to warm the heart and lift the soul.  While accolades are collected – and were obtained in February – I want to celebrate as much the mindset shift to welcome whatever the race may bring and use it to smile at the experience as much as the outcome.  As I write this, serious injury is preventing running – but sheer determination ensures that she keeps showing up – sharing her determination to keep moving – keeping fit and building strength – working sensibly to recover well and be ready to take on the world again.  When she does she will do it with flair – but also embracing every ounce of enjoyment out of the experience – and in doing so continue to inspire us all with it.  I am very proud to announce my first choice for February 2024 Chair’s Runner of the Month as Jade Bazylciewicz.  Keep inspiring us with your journey Jade!!

My second choice also shows true grit – something I applauded in another last month.  Courage and determination in the face of difficulty.  Some of us face enormous challenges in our running journey.  Physical and psychological.  Everyone’s story is different and the path is rarely easy.  Injuries come and go.  Motivation wanes.  We ebb and flow, returning for bursts – the frequency and length of which vary.  But life can throw in challenges too.  It conspires against us often.  Things we are not in control of prod and poke at the process to send it off-balance.  We roll with the punches and keep coming back for more.  But sometimes, those challenges are big and keep getting bigger.  Sometimes the running is the balance – the thing that makes the path that little bit straighter.  When it’s impacted it takes strength and a great deal of care to ensure we can continue in some form while allowing the body chance to recover and allowing the healing power of activity do its job.  All the while, battling the enormous challenges that life throws at us.  Epic races were tackled and completed.  Appearance at training to keep a level head.  Admiration in the utmost for the dedication through adversity to my second Chair’s Runner of the Month to Chris Richards.  I know that injury is playing havoc right now with running but we look forward to when things are running smoothly again. 💙

parkruns

27 members took the opportunity to run an extra parkrun on New Years Day across 9 different parkrun venues. Jamie Verran was the only member who headed across the border with Clevedon Salthouse Fields added to the club record breaking tourist streak.

The first Saturday of the month saw 81 members at a parkrun which includes runners and volunteers. Well done to the 22 club members who headed up with Karl’s Johnson’s parkrun Tours to Pontefract to tick off a Pont(y)(e) for the Full Ponty challenge with lots now having completed it. With Aberfields cancelled that Saturday, we had bigger turnouts at Maesteg where Nicky Bennett was first finisher, and a good turnout at Porthcawl. Jamie Verran was first finisher at Coed Cefn Pwll Du to equal Jake Tasker on being first finisher at 6 different parkrun venues.

On the second weekend of the month we had 81 members either run or volunteer again. Two members ran at Cardiff where they had over 1,000 runners for the first time in 4 years. There were huge turnouts across Wales with over 500 at Porthcawl and over 450 at Pontypridd. Luke Davis was 3rd overall at Aberfields on his 25th parkrun and last parkrun before heading off to the RAF. There were also volunteer milestones for Abbigayle Dee and Claudine Nicholson-Lewis.

The third Saturday of the month saw 78 members run or volunteer (or both) across 12 parkrun venues. We had 24 runners at Maesteg as part of ‘The Runs’ podcast takeover which is co-hosted by Niki Puleio. Jamie Verran ran his final tourist venue at Evesham before deciding to break the streak.

The final Saturday saw a massive 87 members run or volunteer (or both) across 12 parkrun venues. We had 27 members run at Aberfields for Jamie Verran’s 100th parkrun which saw him end his record breaking tourist streak whilst breaking new records in the process including having the shortest time period from debut to 100th parkrun. It was a shame there happened to be a couple of other super fast runners in attendance as Jamies time of 19:06 would have been quick enough for first finisher at Aberfields most weeks but he had to settle for 3rd. Elsewhere, Sarah and Dawn travelled to The Old Showfield parkrun whilst another tourist group of Vickie, Darija and Satera were at Eastville.

Races

The year started as usual with the Kenfig Prince of Wales race on New Years Day. This used to be a compulsory fixture in order to complete the Festive Four, however, this year runners were given the option to do Old Father Time instead which went ahead on New Years Eve. It meant a reduced turnout at Kenfig but still 10 members from our club with a few of us checking our phones to see if we’d got in through the Marathon Eyri ballot. Carl Walsh and Danny Ridley finish together as our first Phoenix runners across the line followed by myself. Jules Esmond was our first female finisher just ahead of Alison Allen. It was also great to see Ria Ross and Caryn Hicks completing their first Festive Four at the event.

The first XC (Cross Country) fixture of the year took place at Margam Park with an impressive 18 members taking on the course. Jake Tasker took the overall win with a solid performance by our men’s scorers. Trail queen Jade B was our first lady with Katie Plimmer, Jules Esmond, Sarah Davies and Melanie Thomas scoring for a great performance for our ladies team as well. Caryn and Ria also ran the event showing some remarkable progress and dedication to the club and running in general since coming through our Zero to Hero program last year.

We had 9 runners at the infamous Riverbank Rollick as we approach 10 years since myself and Richard Lowcock James were the first members to take on the course – just to note, I’ve never gone back! However, it’s a popular choice with our trial lovers. Carl Walsh and Emma Loyns were our first male and female runners back in that one.

18 members took on the CF64 Winter Trail race which was the first fixture in this years club trail championship. Jake Tasker was first overall and it was another 18 minutes until we saw our next finisher which was Jade who picked up the maximum amount of points for the first fixture.

The was at least one less muddy and / or hilly event in January with the Lliswerry 8 – another event I’ve only done once but is very popular with our members. This year saw 14 members complete the course including a phenomenal time of 44:22 from Nicky Bennett which is the fastest time on that course by any OPR member ever, by some margin. In fact, Steve Holloways time of 46;49 and Kyle Blackmore’s 47:11 were also quicker than our previous fastest time on the course which was 47:13 from Kyle last year. Melinda Thomas was our first female finisher in a race where the men heavily outnumbered the ladies.

At the Chepstow Running Festival, Wayne Hayhurst ran the 10K event. Danny Ridley and Ceri Jones ran the Half Marathon with Emma Loyns one of the official pacers, coming in at only an impressive 3 seconds under the 2:20 pacer time.

Festive Four

New Years Day saw the final event of the latest Festive Four series with a presentation after Porthcawl parkrun in mid-January. Well done to the 18 OPR members who qualified for the t-shirt by completing 4 events over the festive period and particularly well done to our ladies who outnumbered the men with 15 of those 18 qualifiers. A huge congratulations to Tammie Clemett who won the Seasons Best ‘Green t-shirt’ category – this was given to the runner who improved the most on their best time of the year coming into the competition and Tammie peaked at the perfect time with some 2023 best performances in those events. Julia Esmond narrowly missed on a top 3 position in the same category. Denise Bradley was 3rd overall in he Age Graded Results.

Chair’s Runners of the Month

January – into a new year – a year of positivity and passion!

My first choice is no stranger to accolades.  Capturing the hearts of our members on many occasions.  True grit.  It’s a word I use a lot – because I hold it as a great measure and demonstrator of resilience.  Courage and determination in spite of difficulty.  Determined to achieve their goal, no matter how much reaching that goal challenges them.  It’s a trait that holds favour with many who are inspired by seeing it happen.  2023 was a good year for many and my choice here is no exception for whom it went out with a bang.  The competition that many of us take part in to keep us engaged over the festive period is a regular draw for some and each year they give their all.  One year it spelt disaster for one in our midst with an accident during one of it’s events that shelved running for a considerable time – but the story of the return from that won our praise and it has continued to do so.  A story that has many chapters still to be told and each accompanied with a characteristic smile and a determined effort.  The Festive Four saw a significant placing for my first choice, the last event of which crept into the new year.  Always humble about her achievements, but always working hard to record great results.  Absolutely delighted to award my January 2024 Chair’s Runner of the Month to Tammie Baker. Keep up the good work Tammie and keep showing us how it’s done!

My second choice is someone I remember meeting on his first training session with the club up in the valley.  We’ve played cat and mouse on many races in the past and have a number of finish approach photos that show us neck and neck, literally, as we approach the line!  That hasn’t happened for some time as continued improvement for my second choice has shown times tumbling – and while not all about speed – it is a benchmark by which improvement can be measured. I’m always captured by those who juggle busy lives with the ability to train.  Family commitments can so often conspire to derail a training programme and it can take a lot of juggling to make everything work and stay on track.  It takes that extra bit of focus – finding the time when possible to sneak in runs to keep the momentum up.  Again, a humble character who just gets on with it – rocks up and gets the job done notching up impressive performances with a smile and encouragement for all those around him too.  Again, delighted to award my second Chair’s Runner of the Month for January 2024 to Wayne Hayhurst.  Well done Wayne, look forward to catching up soon at a race where you’ll be way ahead of me from the start line!  Keep it up. 

parkrun

2023 saw 3,365 parkrun finishes (up 582 on last year) across 733 events (up 62 on last year). Our members visited 210 different parkruns (up 18 on last year) around the world including Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland, Netherlands, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, USA, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and Poland.

2023 saw our parkrun tourism obsession grow with more members than ever running whilst on trips away or seeking out certain letters or numbers for the parkrun alphabet or other different parkrun challenges. Karl Johnson offered tourism trips that varied from North Wales to England to multiple overseas parkruns. Kaye Pedler, Huw Jenkins and Melinda Thomas went on a parkrun adventure that saw them run in Malaysia and Australia. David Sheard started the year in Australia whilst another member, Martin Beard ended the year with parkruns there. A number of members took the opportunity to get some extra parkruns in by visiting countries where they had additional ‘special day’ parkruns not on a Saturday – usually for a national holiday.

Of course, it’s not all about tourism and we continued to have big numbers at our home parkruns of Porthcawl, Maesteg and now Aberfields. The launch of Aberfields headed up by Jay Howells was a huge achievement and significant for our club with a parkrun now in the valley where the club was formed. In fact the first meeting to discuss starting the club took place in the Berwyn Centre which stood just a few hundred metres away from the start line, and our first training session was actually on Aberfields. Our biggest attendance of members at our home parkruns were 57 at Aberfields for the inaugural in August, 55 for the 10 year anniversary run of Porthcawl parkrun which also coincided with a Zero to Hero graduation, and 35 at Maesteg for multiple milestone celebrations back in April.

Maesteg parkrun has continued to be a bit of a recruitment hub for our club just as Porthcawl was in the early days with multiple new members being signed up after seeing our runners or being approached at one of the events.

Number of parkruns completed in 2023

1. Nick Harris – 56 – new club record
2. Jamie Verran – 55 – every UK parkrun day plus one extra overseas extra
3. Brett Bonnell – 54 – every UK parkrun day available
4. Saul Harris – 53
5. David Kembery – 51
6. Gareth Jenkins – 50
7. Sharon Pritchard – 50
8. Tom Mahoney – 49
9. Aled Hughes – 49
10. Linda Harris – 48

This is the first time we’ve had 7 members reach ‘Gold Obsessive’ for completing 50 parkruns in one calendar year and easily our highest combined top 10. Interestingly Nick tops the standings for 2023 but did actually miss a parkrun on the morning on Snowdonia Marathon but made up for that with three extra overseas parkruns this year on special (non-Saturday) days. In doing so, he took top spot for most overall parkruns for the club and is now one ahead of me on 449 parkruns after I’d held top spot for the past 5 years. Jamie Verran has continued his remarkable record of not missing a parkrun since his first in April 2022 and is closing in on the club record of 96. Others who ran 40+ parkruns which gets them a ‘silver obsessive badge’ on the parkrun challenges but didn’t make the top 10 include Melanie Thomas, Chris Pratt, Jo Jenkins, Chris Roberts, Sarah Davies, David Sheard and Alison Allen. Jo Jenkins became the first female member of the club to reach the 250 parkrun milestone and this year has overtaken Bev Sheard to have completed the most parkruns whilst a member of the club.

This year we’ve seen plenty of milestones…

• 250 – Jo Jenkins
• 100 – Brett Bonell
• 100 – Jay Howells
• 100 – Nicky Bennett
• 100 – Rhodri Thomas
• 100 – Nicky Bennett
• 100 – Toni Howells
• 100 – Tom Mahoney
• 100 – Nige Rees
• 100 – Carl Price
• 100 – Sian Jenkins
• 100 – Melinda Thomas
• 100 – Huw Jenkins
• 100 – Rhiannon Whiteley
• 100 – Liam O’Sullivan
• 50 – Jamie Verran
• 50 – Emyr Bissmire
• 50 – Claire Dunbar-Bowen
• 50 – Carys Bissmire
• 50 – Max King
• 50 – Kierran Spiers
• 50 – Bethan Moor
• 50 – Wayne Randall
• 50 – Fiona Evans
• 50 – Laura Worrall
• 50 – Ben Batchelor
• 50 – Kevin Raymond

parkrun tourism

Gareth Jenkins became the 6th member to achieve ‘Cowell Club’ status by running at his 100th different event back in February. Jamie Verran obliterated pretty much every club record going for parkrun tourism by visiting 55 different venues in one year – it’s likely there are only a handful worldwide that have matched or beaten that number this year (feel free to investigate this Jamie!).

Number of new parkrun venues visited in 2023

1. Jamie Verran – 55
2. Melanie Thomas – 24
3. Lee Dunbar-Bowen- 22
4. Claire Dunbar-Bowen – 21
5. Dawn Hopkins – 17
6. Karl Johnson – 17
7. Linda Harris – 16
8. Chris Roberts – 16
9. Jay Howells – 16
10. Nick Harris – 15

Most parkrun tourisms overall as at the end of 2023

1. Karl Johnson – 131
2. Chris Roberts – 129
3. Dawn Hopkins – 121
4. Julie Ransom – 120
5. Shawn Cullen – 112
6. Gareth Jenkins – 104
7. Kris Denholm – 86
8. Sarah Davies – 85
9. Chris Stanlake – 76
10. Jo Jenkins – 74

The overall top 10 contains the same 10 as the end of last year with very little movement apart from Dawn climbing from 5th to 3rd. Interestingly, of that top 10, only 3 made the list for most tourisms this year – probably as a result of their nearest events not yet done (NENYD) being at least a 3 hour round trip.

Top 10 parkrun times

Jacob Tasker has the fastest 6 times of the year with 15:55, 15:56, 16:28, 16:33, 16:40 – Jacob only ran 11 parkuns this year, finishing first overall in 9 of them. Those 9 first finishes includes 5 different venues including course records at Aberfields and Coed Cefn Pwll Du plus beating his own fastest time of anyone in the club at Maesteg. He also finished first overall twice at the highly competitive Cardiff parkrun where he ran his two fastest times. Nicky Bennett picked up the most first finishes this year with 14 (11 at Maesteg and 3 at Porthcawl). Nicky clocked 16:42 and 16:46 (both at Porthcawl) for the 7th and 8th fastest OPR times this year. New kid on the block, Angelo Doria finished first overall in 4 of his 8 parkruns and had the next fastest time after Jacob and Nicky with a 17:15 at Porthcawl.

For the ladies, Bethan Moor clocked the fastest parkrun time of the year with 22:03 at Porthcawl just one second ahead of a 22:04 PB for Claire Dunbar-Bowen at Aberbeeg. Carys Bissmire ran a faster 5K than both in a race this year but her parkrun PB was 23:08 at Swansea Bay this year. Similarly, Katie Plimmer ran faster 5K race times but her parkrun PB was 23:35 at Porthcawl.

Volunteering

Top 10 parkrun volunteer credits in 2023

1. Stephne Puddy 68
2. Chris Stanlake 58
3. Karl Johnson 58
4. Alison Allen 52
5. Greg Allen 50
6. Angela Parry 37
7. Sian Jenkins 34
8. Rhiain Casseldine-Forman 28
9. Rhiannon Whiteley 27
10. Judith Howells 25

Top 10 Total overall parkrun volunteer credits

1. Alison Allen 284
2. Stephne Puddy 270
3. Greg Allen 258
4. Karl Johnson 230
5. Mia Allen 144
6. Chis Stanlake 142
7. Rhiannon Whiteley 141
8. Angela Parry 130
9. Freya Allen 116
10. Rhiain Casseldine-Forman 104

With the Allen’s joining the club, they now dominate our top 10 volunteer counts overall with their fantastic work at Bridgend junior parkrun in additional to Saturday parkrun volunteering. Stephne Puddy’s 68 volunteer credits in a single calendar year is a new club record. With us already having Karl Johnson, Stephne Puddy, Sian Jenkins being parkrun Run Directors at the start of the year, we’ve now added to that list – Jay Howells, Liz Davis, Chris Stanlake and Claudine Nicholson-Lewis who have all taken on the role since Aberfields started in August. New member this year Rhiain Casseldine-Forman has also been a long time Run Director at Market Harborough juniors. Aberfields parkruns volunteer roster is regularly filled with OPR members and has been a significant change in how many of our members are now regular parkrun volunteers. Jay Howells, Toni Howells, Chris Pratt and myself just missed out on the list for most volunteer credits with over 20 each in 2023. Sharon Pritchard and Sian Jenkins are likely to become our next 100 time parkrun volunteers. A huge thank you to all the volunteers.

5K races

OPR members ran in 21 different 5K events this year with 396 finishes and 23 PB’s. Out biggest 5K (and biggest overall event of the year) was Merthyr Mawr 5K where we had 102 finishers.

Late spring and summer saw the usual plethora of 5K events with 3 SSAFA events, 3 Aberavon events, 3 Swansea Bay events plus the super speedy Race for Victory event in Whitchurch with many PB’s throughout the club.

Top 10 fastest men (measured 5K races only excluding parkrun)

1. Jacob Tasker – 15:01 (PB and new club record)
2. Nicky Bennett  – 15:59 (PB)
3. Angelo Doria – 16:30 (PB)
4. Toby Kearns – 17:46 (PB)
5. Aled Hughes – 17:47 (PB)
6. Steve Holloway – 17:55
7. Mark Teesdale – 18:15 (PB)
8. Dylan Panting – 18:20 (PB
9. Dai James – 18:24
10. Emyr Bissmire / Jamie Verran – 18:26 (both PBs)

In total, we had 23 men run a 5K or parkrun under 20 minutes this year with 14 of them being sub 19 which is our most ever.

Top 10 fastest women (measured 5K races only – excluding parkrun)

1. Carys Cronin – 21:57 (PB)
2. Katie Plimmer – 22:31 (PB)
3. Willow Hughes – 22:45 (PB)
4. Claire Dunbar-Bowen – 22:48
5. Jade Bazylkiewicz – 23:03
6. Sarah Davies – 24:17
7. Jo Jenkins – 24:31
8. Denise Bradley – 24:35
9. Arwen Rees – 24:53
10. Freya Allen – 25:30

10K

OPR members ran in 27 different 10K events this year with 292 finishes and 52 PB’s. Sharon Pritchard and Debbie Bennion were our most prolific 10K-ers with 10 events each. Our biggest attended 10K events of the year was Porthcawl 10K with 59 members completing the course.

Top 10 fastest males

1. Jacob Tasker – 31:45 (PB and new club record)
2. Nicky Bennett – 33:23 (PB)
3. Geraint Lewis – 35:36
4. Toby Kearns – 37:35 (PB)
5. Aled Hughes – 37:36 (PB)
6. Gareth Richards – 37:48
7. Niki Puleio – 38:02
8. Dylan Panting – 39:18 (PB)
9. Mark Teesdale – 39:21 (PB)
10. Emyr Bissmire – 39:27 (PB)

Adam Kearns, Wayne Randall and Connor Panting all also ran sub 40 making it the most members under 40 minutes in a single calendar year in the history of the club. Honourable mention for Tom Mahoney who ran a PB of 40:01.

Top 10 fastest female

1. Claire Dunbar-Bowen – 47:11 (PB)
2. Katie Plimmer – 48:11 (PB)
3. Carys Cronin – 49:06
4. Arwen Rees – 53:06 (PB)
5. Deborah Edwards – 53:08 (PB)
6. Carol Bartle – 54:12
7. Liz Davis – 54:50
8. Fiona Drysdale – 55:10
9. Angharad Hinam – 55:17
10. Steph Iveson-Holmes – 56:46 (PB)

Interestingly 6 of our fastest female runners from last year didn’t complete a 10K this year as they concentrated on other distances.

Half Marathon

OPR members ran in 25 different Half Marathon events this year with 168 finishes and 24 PB’s. Our biggest attended Half Marathon was of course Cardiff with 82 members completing the course. Our members took up official pacing positions in many Half Marathons this year with Emma Loyns pacing at the Big Half and Cardiff Half (amongst others from the club) whilst I paced at the Great Welsh Half and Swansea Half. Sharon Pritchard and Debbie Bennion were our most prolific Half Marathoners with 5 events each. Jacob Tasker set a new course record at the Pumsaint Half Marathon.

Top 10 Fastest Male

1. Jacob Tasker – 1:09:35 (PB and new club record)
2. Nicky Bennett – 1:13:54 (PB)
3. Angelo Doria – 1:16:01 (PB)
4. Steve Holloway – 1:17:22 (PB)
5. Gareth Richards – 1:24:33
6. Aled Hughes – 1:26:56 (PB)
7. Scott Gray – 1:29:03
8. Toby Kearns – 1:29:14
9. Emyr Bissmire – 1:30:34
10. Wayne Hayhurst – 1:31:56

Interesting fact courtesy of his interview on the recently started ‘The Runs’ podcast (co-hosted by the clubs very own Niki Puleio) – Nicky Bennett has now knocked over an hour off his debut half marathon time which was a few years before joining the club.

Top 10 fastest female

1. Jade Bazyliewicz – 1:46:56 (PB)
2. Carys Cronin – 1:51:31
3. Emma Loyns – 1:52:04
4. Carol Bartle – 1:53:56
5. Gemma Richards – 1:57:56
6. Rosie Salvatore – 1:58:57
7. Claire Dunbar-Bowen – 1:59:23
8. Jo Jenkins – 2:03:12
9. Alison Allen – 2:04:18
10. Elizabeth Sim – 2:04:24

Marathon

OPR members ran in 25 different marathons this year with 96 finishes and 31 PB’s. We also had marathon finishes in 8 different countries mainly due to Carl Walsh’s adventures (more on that later). Some highlights include Jacob Tasker leading Marathon Eryri (Snowdon) for the first half and eventually finishing 4th in a club record time of 2:35:24 – a time which would have won the race in most years. Niki Puleio ran the second and third fastest times of the year with a 2:54 and 2:58 at Boston and New York respectively as he continues his quest to run all the Marathon Majors in under 3 hours. Paul Smith ran a sub 3 at London Marathon with a 2:59 whilst Niki made a 3rd appearance in the top 6 marathon times of this year with a 3:03 at the same event. Aled Hughes agonisingly missed a sub 3 at Newport by 37 seconds but worth pointing out it was a 28 minute PB! There were remarkable marathon debuts by Toby and Adam Kearns at Newport Marathon with 3:17 and 3:26 respectively whilst Emyr Bissmire ran 3:16 at London on his marathon debut. Ken Salvatore ran a 3:55 PB at Berlin. With Dai James running at Chicago, we had runners in 5 of the 6 Marathon Majors this year.

Claire Dunbar-Bowen was our fastest lady with a 3:46 at London and ran the first half with Emma Loyns who ended up with a PB of 3:53 just a few weeks after running a sub 4 marathon PB at Southampton.

Aside from those already mentioned, there were PB’s for Chris Richards, Kate Lee, Rob Loyns, Stephne Puddy and Shelley Evans at London this year. Our biggest marathon of the year was Marathon Eryri (Snowdon) with 25 runners where aside from Jacob’s incredible run we also had Gareth Richards running 3:26 and Daniel Jenkins knocking 16 minutes off his time from the previous year with a 3:37. Katie Plimmer ran her debut marathon with a 4:43 having run the majority with Emma Loyns who picked up and helped several Phoenix runners along the way. Ceri Jones and Melanie Thomas also ran their debut marathons at Snowdonia.

Other highlights include Kaye Pedler finally ticking off that Marathon PB she desperately wanted with a 5:18 at the Long Course Weekend in Tenby where there were also PB’s for Deb Edwards and Sian Jenkins. There are to many PB’s to list them all but a special mention to Heather Morgan who returned from a long term injury to complete the Great Welsh Marathon.

Top 10 fastest Male

1. Jacob Tasker – 2:35:24 (PB and new club record)
2. Niki Puleio – 2:54:38
3. Paul Smith – 2:59:00
4. Aled Hughes – 3:00:37 (PB)
5. Emyr Bissmire – 3:16:10
6. Dai James – 3:16:33
7. Toby Kearns – 3:17:42
8. Gareth Richards – 3:26:24
9. Adam Kearns – 3:26:42
10. Daniel Jenkins – 3:37:08

Top 10 fastest Female

1. Claire Dunbar-Bowen – 3:46:07 (PB)
2. Emma Loyns – 3:53:50 (PB)
3. Kate Lee – 4:10:40 (PB)
4. Carol Bartle – 4:10:56 (PB)
5. Angharad Hinam – 4:37:36 (PB)
6. Liz Sim – 4:38:05
7. Katie Plimmer – 4:43:16 (PB)
8. Sian Thomas – 4:43:21 (PB)
9. Sarah Davies – 4:50:25
10. Denise Bradley – 4:56:49

Ultras / Challenges / Crazy Feats of Endurance

From 26.2 miles to 100 miles – there were some exceptional feats of endurance this year with many taking on multiple long distance challenges.

I have to start with Carl Walsh who ran 12 marathons and 14 ultra marathons this year to join the prestigious 100 Marathon Club. For those not familiar – the 100 Marathon Club has been around for many decades and celebrates runners who have run 100 official Marathons or further. Carl becomes the first OPR member to achieve this and purposely lined it up so his 100th would be at Marathon Eryri. His 101st wasn’t a bad location either with it being New York Marathon just a week later! Carl’s commitment to long distance running is unmatched in the club with him averaging a marathon or more every other weekend and often does several weekends in a row. Not only that, many of those 100 have been tough, off road, big elevation marathons and ultras in the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains. There’s no easy way of getting into the 100 marathon club but Carl has probably done it the hard way! His journey to 100 marathons have taken him around the world and there are plans in place for him to complete a marathon on every continent with most already ticked off.

In February, I participated in a local charity event where I ran 88 miles in 24 hours before going to parkrun. I continued to find ‘different / bonkers’ ultras as I participated in Fallout which was a new variation on Escape from Meriden and having to run your own planned route as far away as possible whilst chased by a ‘radioactive cloud’. I completed my second 100 miler with my 3 year build up to finally enter and complete the Dragon 100. I then went on to run over 50 miles in another charity event around Roath Park Lake in Cardiff. I’ve said I’m retired from Ultras now having run 50 miles or more on 11 occasions in the 3 years I’ve been doing Ultra-marathons which is currently the most of anyone in the club.

Gareth Richards ran the Brecon to Cardiff 44 mile Ultra back in February before going on to complete the Dragon 100 from Rhosilli to Cardiff Bay for the second year in row. Incredibly, he was only a few minutes slower than the year before despite spending most of the 3 months leading up to it injured and barely running at all. As mentioned earlier, Gareth later went on to run the Snowdonia Marathon in 3:26.

Our most prolific female endurance runner was Emma Loyns who after running 10 marathons or ultras in 2022 for charity, did another 9 in 2023. In May she took on what I would argue is easily the toughest ultra anyone in the club has attempted – the Ultra Trail Snowdonia 100K – a 64 mile race with 21,000 feet of elevation. To put that in perspective, Marathon Eryri has 2,500 feet of elevation. Not only that, UTS is over severe technical terrain with inclines so steep and uneven that it can take up to 40 minutes to complete a single mile in parts. To add to this, the temperature on the day of the race was pretty much unheard of for Snowdonia and unfortunately that meant Emma had to call it a day but only having still completed 50K and a crazy amount of elevation. Incredibly, Emma picked herself back up and entered the Dragon 100 miler – a huge step up in distance as Emma’s previous longest race completed was a 50 miler last year. Emma completed the Dragon 100 becoming one of only two current female members of the club (at the time of writing) to complete a 100 mile race.

Other fantastic ultra distance achievements this year saw Denise Bradley complete 50 miles in the same charity 24 hour event I participated in at the start of the year. Kris Denholm called it a day after 44 miles and David Thomas who ambitiously set a goal of 100 miles and was on target for the first 7-8 hours had to pull out having completed 40 miles. Denise also went on to complete 100k over 2 days at Race to the Kings to complete the ‘Race to the ___’ series of ultras. Dai James also completed that 2 day event having run both Brecon to Cardiff and the VOGUM earlier in the year. Melanie Thomas completed 3 Ultras around the 30-40 mile distances with new member Rhiain Casseldine-Forman joining her on all three.

Our biggest Ultra of the year was yet again the Vale Ultra where Carl Price ran an incredible 5:18:40 in his debut ultra for one of our fastest Vale times ever. Kaye Pedler and Jo Jenkins completed their first ultras on the day.

A couple of noteworthy comebacks this year with Leanne Parson returning to Brecon to Cardiff where she had dropped out having completed over 30 miles the year before to complete it this year. Angharad Hinam provided the most intense, nail-biting performance of the year at the Dragon 100 – a race where she was pulled out in a previous year having not met the cut off and also had to withdraw from a short notice in another year due to injury coupled with cancellations due to COVID. This year she unfortunately got lost again but thankfully with the help of her coach (and former member) Steven, she got back on track and made it to the ‘half way’ checkpoint in Kenfig with just minutes to spare. In fact, they told her she didn’t have time to change and had to just continue to avoid being pulled out of the race again. Special permission was given for Steven to assist her for a section of the race to get her back on track and incredibly she reached each of the checkpoints with less than 30 minutes to spare throughout finishing just 20 minutes before the 34 hour midnight cut off with myself and Emma waiting for her along with Steven, her husband, Jo Jenkins, Heather Morgan and Rob Loyns who had all supported throughout the 34 hours.

Longest distances achieved in charity / race ultra’s in 2023

1. Gareth Richards / Gareth Jenkins / Emma Loyns / Angharad Hinam – 100 miles – Dragon 100

5. Gareth Jenkins – 88 miles – Charity 24 hour event in Bryncethin

6. Simon Poole – 62 miles – Race to the Stones 100K

7. Denise Bradley / Dai James – 62 miles (over 2 days) – Race to the Kings 100K

9. Carl Walsh – 55 miles – Comrades

10. Gareth Jenkins – 52 miles – Loop-a-thon charity event in Roath Park

Incredibly that means Angharad Hinams Gower 50 doesn’t make the list, Denise’s 50 miler at the charity event, or the members who completed Brecon to Cardiff 44 miler.

Race and overall totals

Total number of events in 2023 (parkruns plus races)

1. Aled Hughes 93
2. Nick Harris 92
3. Sharon Pritchard 89
4. Gareth Jenkins 81
5. Jamie Verran 79
6. Dawn Hopkins 76
7. Melanie Thomas 76
8. Debbie Bennion 75
9. Sarah Davies 72
10. Emyr Bissmire 71

Sharon Prichard sets a new female club record for most events in a year beating Dawn’s record from last year by 1 event. Aled was well on course for 100+ at one point this year before work commitments meant a reduction in the frequency of races.

Most Races (not including parkruns)

1. Aled Hughes 44
2. Sharon Pritchard 39
3. Debbie Bennion 38
4. Jacob Tasker 33
5. Dawn Hopkins 32
6. Gareth Jenkins 31
7. Nicky Bennett 31
8. Melanie Thomas 30
9. Sarah Davies 29
10. Katie Plimmer 29

Overall most events

1. Gareth Jenkins 785
2. Nick Harris 742
3. Aled Hughes 582
4. Chris Pratt 571
5. Dai Kembo 491
6. David Sheard 458
7. Dawn Hopkins 427
8. Kris Denholm 420
9. Chris Roberts 390
10. Jo Jenkins 376

This year saw Aled overtake Chris into 3rd spot whilst Jo Jenkins overtook Denise to make the top 10. Jo is actually the most recent member to join out of the top 10 having been in the club 7 years compared to 8-11 years for the rest. Our top 10 have run 5,240 events between them.

Overall most races (not including parkruns)

1. Gareth Jenkins 340
2. Nick Harris 295
3. Aled Hughes 240
4. Chris Pratt 215
5. Dawn Hopkins 209
6. Denise Bradley 187
7. Sharon Pritchard 167
8. Mark Worrall 161
9. Debbie Bennion 159
10. Niki Puleio 152

Cross Country

The club continues to participate in both the West Glamorgan League and the Gwent League with separate male and female teams contesting. The men are currently 5th in the top division of the West Glam league after 2 fixtures of the 23/24 season with the ladies in 3rd in division 2 after a successful 22/23 season which was completed back in March with both teams maintaining their current division status.

In the Gwent League we had a great turnout for the men at Pembrey for the first fixture of the 23/24 season whilst at Llandaff we had full scoring teams for both the men and women.

As a result of some great performances in Pembrey which was the qualification event to represent South Wales at the Inter-Regional Welsh Championships, we had our biggest amount of call ups in the clubs history. Bethan Moor, Sarah Davies and Katie Plimmer ran in the ladies race whilst Nicky Bennett, Niki Puleio and Davidleigh Bulter ran for South Wales in the men’s event. Angelo Doria also received a call up for the Under 20’s men’s team.

Fiona Drysdale did the most cross country league events notching up an incredible 8 events this year whilst Nicky Bennett also did 8 cross country events made up of 6 league events plus the Welsh XC Championships and Inter-Regional events.

Bridgend County Running League (BCRL)

153 different members ran at least one BCRL event. We had 592 finishes across the 7 events averaging just short of 85 per fixture. 19 members ran every fixture with a few more only missing one because they volunteered at our own event.

Bridgend were back in force this season and the new scoring system which meant the top 10 men and women from each club counted towards the ‘scoring’ places with everyone else getting minus 1 seemed to benefit other clubs more than us in the early events.

To win the BCRL, it requires getting three elements correct – a strong top 10 men, a strong top 10 women and big attendances for those crucial minus 1’s. We seemed to improve throughout the season in all 3. In the men’s scoring we regularly had about 20 men capable of running sub 20 in contention for those top 10 scoring places and with further recruitment throughout the season including wonderkid Angelo, then we got stronger and more dominant throughout. In the final event, we actually had the top 3 overall with Jacob, Nicky and Angelo capping off an incredible season. The ladies were up against it with Bridgend and Porthcawl having really strong women’s teams, but our ladies held their own and produced some incredibly determined performances throughout the season to keep us in contention. Sarah Wilkes and Bethan Moor both ran in 5 fixtures despite both having to travel 30-45 minutes to each event from their respective homes and battled it out for our first female finisher in those events. Willow Hughes, Katie Plimmer, Carys Cronin, Claire Dunbar-Bowen, Jade B, Sarah Davies were consistently in our top 10 female places in the events they ran. Then we had a huge number battling it out for the final few top 10 places each time with the likes of Jo Jenkins, Fiona Drysdale, Denise Bradley, Jules Esmond, Alison Allen, Freya Allen and Melanie Thomas. Our attendances were incredible with the final event hitting triple figures with 102 finishers at Merthyr Mawr Lane 5K.

In terms of the Team results, we won the Kenfig, Planka and Heol y Mynydd fixtures which as I write this I’ve realised we won probably the 3 toughest fixtures! Bridgend led the way for the first 4 fixtures before we took top spot overall after the fifth event and never looked back.

Jacob won 6 out of the 7 fixtures with Nicky Bennett winning the other meaning that OPR have had the winner of the last 14 fixtures in a row. We also had 10 age category winners.

An incredible season to retain our BCRL title.  Every single person made a difference whether our first finisher or our final finisher.

A huge thank you to everyone who ran, volunteered, organised and supported in our championship winning year. And here’s to making it a treble next year!

Club Trail Championship

This year saw the return of the club trail championship with a mixture of local parkruns, BCRL races, XC fixtures and a variety of distances ranging at local events including the Rabbit Run, Beast of Bryn and Vale races. Some great competition throughout the series with the final showdown at the Merthyr Mawr Pudding Run. I won’t spoil the surprise and put the final standings as these will be presented at the presentation night.

Club Training in 2023

The club continues to offer a variety of training sessions which continue to grow in numbers. Emma Loyns continued her strength classes on a Monday which has regularly been one of the biggest attended sessions of the week. Tuesdays have continued with a mixture of effort and mile sessions. Wednesdays now consist of Flyers and other club sessions. We also have Track twice a month where many of the sessions have come together. Thursdays have continued back at our original home in the Ogmore Valley where several themed / celebratory runs have taken place this year. Then there’s been trial Sundays which are regularly providing something different. Also not forgetting our junior section which meet on Mondays. We’ve had a number of new Lirfs this year alongside our long standing cohort who keep us motivated and active throughout the year.

Other club activities in 2023

Presentation night saw a very popular Runners Runner winner with Laura Worrall taking the title and becoming only the second female member of the club to win the top prize. The top 3 was rounded out by Gareth Richards – his 3rd top 3 finish without winning it, and last years Runners Runner, Jacob Tasker. After Jacob walking away with most of the awards last year, it was a big more evenly spread this time with no one winning more than two awards and 18 different winners in total. Niki Puleio, Emma Loyns, Gareth Richards and Laura Worrall were all double winners on the night.

June saw a momentous occasion for the club as we competed in the Welsh Castles relay for the first time. This has been a long term goal for the club since we first started the club over 11 years ago. We also had two teams again at the Rack Raid Relays.

The Phoenix gazebo returned to Ogmore by Sea to welcome in the Vale runners. In October we saw the return of the Snowdonia Marathon weekend with over 40 OPR members and supporters travelling up to the event. Phoenix corner was bigger and better than ever with more members than ever staying until the final runners came in.

The Phantom Phoenix continues to keep us guessing. Our X (Twitter), Instagram and Facebook pages also continue to keep members up to date. We saw the return of regular blog posts during the year with a few more to be published soon. Pippa and I have posted almost 5,000 individual results throughout the year with the master excel file I keep now having over 33,000 results.

A huge well done to every member who has participated in training, races, volunteered or simply encouraged others this year.

parkruns

December saw 334 parkrun finishes across 72 events. That’s our second highest ever number of parkrun finishes in a calendar month with the highest month being January 2020

The first Saturday of the month saw 59 runners across 14 different parkruns. Tourism included Darija Keenor picking up a Y for the parkrun alphabet at York and Martin Beard starting a month of Australia parkruns with Cairns parkrun. He would go on to do Airlie Beach, Logan River in Australia before running at East Coast parkrun in Singapore. At Aberfields we had the first male and female finishers with Aled Hughes and Sarah Davies. Nicky Bennett was first finisher at Maesteg. Jamie Verran ran his 50th different parkrun venue of the year at Mallards Pike.

The second Saturday saw 44 runners across 14 different parkruns. Aberfields was cancelled for the first time since due to the course being mostly underwater. Attendance was also down due to lots of members doing the Aberavon Santa run that morning. Of course, a few done both.

The third Saturday saw 53 runners across 12 different parkruns. We had another double at Aberfields with Aled Hughes and Jo Jenkins our first male and female finishers. Toby Kearns was first finisher at Maesteg. Johnson tours took 8 members to Quakers Walk with some ticking off their first ‘Q’ for their parkrun alphabet whilst others were getting their third of the rarest parkrun letter in the world (apart from X of course).

The fourth Saturday saw a massive 84 runners across 15 different parkruns – just one short of our club record. 31 members were at Aberfields were Rhiannon Whiteley and Liam O’Sullivan were running their 100th parkruns. There were also big local attendances at Porthcawl (23) and Maesteg (15). Aled Hughes was first finisher at Aberfields whilst Nicky Bennett was first finisher at Maesteg.

Christmas Day means an extra parkrunday and saw 22 members take advantage of this across 10 different venues. Jamie Verran even sought out a new parkrun venue to continue his streak of running a different parkrun venue on every occasion in 2023.

The final Saturday saw 72 members running across 15 parkruns. Bethan Moor was first lady at Maesteg. Johnson’s Tours took 6 members to Five Arches parkrun.

Races

5K

21 members took on the popular Aberavon Run4All Santa Run where Aled was our first runner across the line in blustery conditions and Tammie Baker was our first female. Several of our members also did the Maesteg Santa Run where you can do anything from 1 lap to the usual 4 laps of the Maesteg parkrun course for free with a medal and chocolate at the end!

The big 5K of December is always Nos Galan which see’s the ridiculously fast (Elite Races) to the just ridiculous costumes in the Fun Run including me dressed as a beer bottle and Jo as a flamingo which both got a lot of attention from the crowds. In the Elite Men’s race we had a record 8 starters with Jacob finishing 6th overall in a time of 15:49 on a wet and windy course. Steve Holloway run an impressive 17:55 followed by Aled in 18:32. In the Elite Ladies Race we had Carys Bissmire who ran 23:46 and Katie Plimmer who ran 24:48. Finally, in the Fun Run we had 16 runners led home by Chris Pratt in 23:18 and our first lady was Alison Allen in 26:19.

5 miles

A rarely run distance but a couple of opportunities during the festive period to clock a 5 mile time. We had 4 at Glynneath 5 miler which was resurrected at short notice after being cancelled at one point. Denise Bradley was first in her age category at that event. This year the Festive Four competition allowed a choice between the New Years Day Kenfig event (4 miles with a lot of sand) or Old Father Time (5 miles on pancake flat tarmac) – funnily enough, Old Father Time was quite popular this year with 18 members going for that option. Nicky Bennett was our first runner back in 28:40 – a PB and just 31 seconds off Jacobs overall club record. Sarah Davies got a PB with a 40:45 and Tammie Baker who had a brilliant month of 5K times added a 5 mile PB with 45:31.

Other Races

Nicky Bennett and Niki Puleio headed to Telford for a 10K event with both clocking super fast times of 33:33 and 38:02 respectively. Danny Ridley took on the Limitless Trails Half Marathon and Seven Sins 7 miler during the month. Carl Walsh ran the Celtic Trail Ultra Marathon in slightly better conditions than the previous year when a lot of the course was covered in snow and ice. Fiona Drysdale was our only runner at the Blaise Castle Gwent XC fixture. Fiona represented the club in 8 XC events for the club during 2023 across the West Glam and Gwent Leagues which is the most of any member when just counting league events.

The two big other distance events in December were the Merthyr Mawr Pudding Run and the Porthcawl Lions Boxing Day run. At the Pudding Run we had 25 runners with Jacob finishing first overall whilst we had our biggest turnout in several years at the Lions race with 35.

Over to Chris for Runners of the Month.

Chair’s Runners of the Month

As the year draws to a close – it’s fabulous to see all the fantastic running endeavours of our members.  Near and far.  Short and long.  Fast and slow.  It doesn’t matter what you achieve – you have all pursued your dreams.  You have battled with challenges and some have fallen by the wayside and we hope we’ve done the best we can to pick you back up and support you along whatever journey you take.  Your goal is your goal and we salute you for setting one and striving for it – whatever it may be.

To close off I will pick two more runners from our fold who have made noted efforts.

Firstly one who floats so often under the radar, but is a constant.  Quietly working away at events that are often unseen.  A propensity to attend league events that many don’t.  Not because of breaking records or winning trophies (although they have come from her endeavours) – but for just taking part.  Often treading where others don’t – the far flung corners of our region and beyond to represent the Phoenix.  Gwent league seems to conjur up a fear – somehow bringing an elitist badge that doesn’t actually do it justice.  It’s for everyone and there are those who attend them all – or at least all those they can make.  Also tackling unusual events that inspire.  I personally have been inspired by race choices made that are a little unusual and this year, for the first time, I’m racing against horses as a result!  For the inspiration and awesome commitment to participating and representing the club, I award my first Chair’s Runner of the month for December to Fiona Drysdale.  Keep up the good work Fiona and keep inspiring us with your focus!

My second choice is fairly new to the club and I remember having several discussions before that was the case about the merits of being within the fold.  It took a bit of cajoling (not from myself) but eventually he relented and blue kit was ordered to accompany the miles.  It didn’t take long before the club bug took hold and for it wasn’t long beofre every time I went to training I’d see this face.  With a leaning towards the trails it became obvious there was a passion there and it’s passion that we like to see.  Not fearful of hills, distance or terrain – he was in for everything – and throws everything at it.  Merits in the trail championship show there’s also prowess there and while that’s admirable – it’s the dedication as much as anything that we applaud.  I am very proud to announce my second Chair’s Runner of the month for December as Lee Dunbar-Bowen.  Well done Lee – look forward to seeing you on many trails (and roads for the training miles) lots over the coming months!

parkruns

The first weekend saw a drop in numbers with 48 finishers from our club across 16 parkruns. Just a week on from his club record breaking marathon exploits in Eryri, Jacob Tasker ran an impressive 15:55 parkrun PB at Cardiff where he was also first finisher. Angelo Doria was 3rd overall at Porthcawl with 18:31. John Burridge bagged his first ever first finisher token more than 10 years after his first parkrun with Aberfields the location. Alison Allen was first lady making it two weeks in a row as first lady across a parkrun finish line with Jo Jenkins close behind.

The second Saturday saw a big increase with 69 of our members running at 17 different parkrun locations. Kaye Pedler, Huw Jenkins and Melinda Thomas were at Presint parkrun in Malaysia which I believe adds another parkrun country to our club list. Aled Hughes was first finisher at Aberfields parkrun whilst Nicky Bennett lead home the biggest turnout in Porthcawl in quite a while as he finished first overall in 16:46.

Week 3 saw 56 runners across 13 parkruns. This week saw Kaye, Huw and Melinda at Varsity Lakes parkrun in Australia. There was a big turnout at Porthcawl ahead of the BCRL presentation which followed the event in the Hi Tide – more on that later. Aled Hughes was again first finisher at Aberfields.

The final Saturday of the month saw 68 runners across 12 parkruns. Kaye, Huw and Melinda continued their parkrun adventures in Australia at Kelvin Grove parkrun where Huw and Melinda were both running their 100th parkruns. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the parkrun they had intended to run as they were heading for one beginning with Y for Kaye to add to the milestones by completing the parkrun alphabet challenge but it was called off ay short notice. Kaye and co weren’t our only international tourists with Jay Howells at Unisee parkrun in Germany. Back home, Nicky Bennett was first finisher at Maesteg.

There were several milestones during the month including Jay Howells doing his 50th volunteer stint and both Toni Howells and Julie Ransom reaching 25 volunteer credits

Races

Despite a postponement to the first event which was due to be the first Thursday of the month, there still ended up being two Severn Bridge 5 milers in the month. In what is a very rare occurrence, I was first Phoenix across the line in both events with Nick Harris next up on both occasions. Jo Jenkins was our first female Phoenix for both races with all 3 of us mentioned running quicker the second time round. Kierran Spiers also ran both events with a further 10 OPR runners completing one of the two races.

The big race of the month was the Richard Burton 10K where we had 34 runners. Nicky Bennett was first Phoenix across the line in 35:17 with a 5 minute gap to our next runners – Emyr Bissmire, Connor and Dylan Panting and Davidleigh Butler. Daniel Jenkins was the first of out runners that had completed Snowdonia Marathon just a week before. Neil Ridley and Jason Griffiths also ran both. Our first female across the line was Carole Bartle in 54:12.

Tom Mahoney and Lee Dunbar-Bowen completed the Cardiff Mo Run with this forming part of multiple fundraising events that Tom took on as part of Movember. The Allen family headed to Alton Towers were Gregg and Mia ran the 5K whilst Alison and Freya ran the Half Marathon.

We had three runners in one of the biggest marathon events in the world – the New York Marathon. Niki Puleio continued his quest to not only run all 6 marathon majors, but to also run them in under 3 hours. His finishing time in New York was 2:58:37. Just a week after running his 100th marathon in Snowdonia, it turned out Carl Walsh had a pretty decent back up in case he missed an event with New York! Dan Ridley was our 3rd finisher in the Big Apple.

A few of our mud-loving trail runners headed off to do the Sodbury Slog where we had 8 finishers and many running the course together. Jade was first across the line on the results but very closely followed by Claire DB and Emma Loyns. Melanie Thomas and Simon Poole finished together as did the inseparable Sharon and Debbie. Vickie Blake was our final finisher as she volunteered as a VI guide which must have been a huge challenge in this sort of event.

Cross Country (XC)

November was a huge month for XC. First up was the second Gwent league fixture at Llandaff Fields in Cardiff which is not only also part of the British Series but is also on the World series of XC events. This resulted in some incredible athletes being part of race which was amazing to see. We managed to field enough men and women for the scoring positions with the ladies up first. Bethan Moor was our first lady across the line ahead of Sarah Davies, Fiona Drysdale, Dawn Hopkins and Steph IH. In the mens race, Josh Parry was our first runner home followed by Davidleigh Bulter, myself, Chris Pratt (who had run a season’s best that morning at parkrun), Wayne Randall and Phill Iveson.

A week later it was the Welsh Inter-Regionals. This event requires runners to qualify for their region through the first Gwent League fixture – or in my case in 2015 and 2018 – just say you’re happy to be a last minute replacement if they are desperate! The most we’ve had representing South Wales in a single year is 4 but this year we smashed that with 7 – and all definitely got in on merit! We would have had 8 but unfortunately Jake wasn’t able to make it due to a continuing niggle. It was a second appearance in as many years for Nicky Bennett who was our first finisher in the men’s race ahead of Niki Puleio and Davidleigh Butler. In the ladies race Bethan Moor was followed home by Sarah Davies and Katie Plimmer with all three picking up their South Wales vests for the first time. Having only started running with the club 5 months earlier, Angelo Doria represented South Wales in the U20 race.

On the final weekend of the month it was the turn of the West Glam league with the Gnoll being the venue for this one. With 20 runners, it equaled our biggest XC turnout this year. Impressive performances from Nicky Bennett, Kyle Blackmore, Niki Puleio, John Burridge and brand new member Oliver Edwards in our male scoring positions against tough opposition. For the ladies it was Jade, Claire DB, Sarah D, Katie P and Fiona Drysdale. Well done to Sarah who was the only member to run all 3 XC events in the month. Also a shoutout to Caryn Hicks who completed the Gnoll as well.

BCRL presentation

Around 20 of us headed to the Hi Tide for the BCRL presentation after Porthcawl parkrun on the 18th November. Well done to our individual winners in various age categories –

Under 20’s Female: Willow Hughes (1st), Freya Allen (2nd)

45-49 Female: Claire DB (1st)

60-64 Female: Denise Bradley (2nd)

Under 20’s Male: Luke Davis (1st)

Senior Male: Jacob Tasker (1st), Nicky Bennett (2nd)

35-39 Male: Dai James (3rd)

45-49 Male: Geriant Lewis (1st), Aled Hughes (2nd)

60-64 Male: Kevin Raymond

Plus of course – BCRL Club Champions – OGMORE PHOENIX RUNNERS (1ST)

Over to Chris for the Chairs Runners of the Month

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing many runners develop within the club.  Many come to us to start their journey and some to continue it. A few were here right at the start, when the club started.

One of my choices for November has battled with injury and the impact that has on focus and motivation.  It’s such a hard journey when serious injury prevents you from being active – especially when you were very active before and had aspirations for performance improvements.  Performing well, setting club records.  Focused and committed.   Then injury strikes and worsens to the point where it prevents continuation – leading to operations.  But, not one to be undone, there was a measured return from it.  There was a new found focus.  You know how much I value a comeback – and use it as inspiration for my own running.  It was a steady process – but there was a process and it was followed.  Runs were slowly building from just a few hundred yards.  Steadily it came back.  Tentative steps but definitely making progress.  Soon enough the distance returned and times were starting to tend to those from the past.  In November, a first place finish at parkrun came – marking a milestone that hadn’t previously been achieved.  An accolade to the patience and hard work to return.  I am delighted to award my first Chair’s Runner of the month for November as John Burridge.  Well done John!  A great journey back that has inspired others – including me!

Newcomers aplenty during 2023 and many were getting stuck in straight away.  League events and relays – nothing presents a barrier to participation for some.  Not only getting stuck in but also performing with first finishes and impressive times being notched up.  Living away from the area but travelling in for training sessions and local races shows a focus on being part of the club.  League races representing the club were also accompanied by representation at regional level having being selected to run for South Wales.  When new members join and get stuck in straight away it’s becomes infectious – others see it and it inspires them to get involved and we all applaud such fabulous dedication.  It is with a great deal of admiration that I award my second Chair’s Runner of the month for November as Bethan Moor.  Well done Bethan and keep inspiring others!!

parkruns

The first Saturday of the month saw 65 OPR members running across 14 different parkrun venues. Angelo Doria and Nicky Bennett had a photo finish at Maesteg for first and second overall respectively and given the same time of 19:50. There was the first proper attempt at Jacob’s Aberfields record with the first place runner coming in at 16:47 at the event where we had 13 runners. Johnson’s tours headed to Pont y Bala in search of achieving the Full Ponty challenge. That included Jamie Verran who definitely takes the crown for least amount of parkruns to complete the challenge.

The second Saturday saw a huge turnout of 76 runners across 15 parkruns. Claire Dunbar-Bowen was first female overall at Llanishen parkrun. Chris Pratt ticked off a new tourist venue at Oakwell Hall whilst Liam O’Sullivan and Rhiannon Whiteley were at South Manchester parkrun. Toby Kearns was first finisher at Maesteg. After Porthcawl leading the way for OPR finishers in week 1, it was back to Aberfields on week 2 with 25 of our runners completing the course alongside mostly OPR volunteers. A medical emergency just before the start of Pontypridd parkrun resulted in a very late start for a few of our runners who headed there for their 10 year anniversary run. A huge well done to Karl Johnson and his team who dealt with the emergency and were still able to put the parkrun on.

Week 3 saw 55 runners across 12 parkruns. Jay and Abbi had a break from Aberfields as they visited Woodhouse Moor parkrun which I believe was the first parkrun set up outside of London 16 years ago. Bethan Moor ran a speedy 22:04 at Cardiff parkrun. Jamie Verran ran a parkrun PB of 18:47 at Kingsway parkrun in Gloucester. Dylan Panting was first finisher at Aberfields beating his brother Connor by 1 second and Saul Harris who was just 10 seconds further back to claim a first ever first three finishers at the event.

The final Saturday of the month saw 56 runners across 16 parkruns which is remarkable considering many regular parkruns were running Snowdonia Marathon that morning. Due to the marathon, it was the first time (since the same marathon last year) that our newly crowned most parkruns leader Nick Harris missed a parkrun. He’d actually done 55 over that period due to the extras on Christmas Day and New Years Day as well as getting in a couple of overseas parkruns on their bonus days. Our parkrun tourism events leader, Karl Johnson headed to Newtown whilst Linda Harris along with Shawn Cullen and Julie Ransom ran Nant y Pandy parkrun before supporting at Snowdon. There was a surprise Phoenix gathering at the newest ‘Q’ parkrun with Jo and I bumping into Paul, Alexis and Melinda who had also decided on that venue.

Races

There were several 10K’s in month with Satera James running the River Ness 10K which is part of the Loch Ness Marathon weekend where Ashley Howells ran a PB of 4:54. Sarah Davies ran the Red Warrior MT 10K where Jade B was first female in the 10 mile race which also included Claire and Lee Dunbar-Bowen. Jay and Abbi ran together at the Nidderdale Way 10K.

By far the biggest event of the month was the Cardiff Half Marathon where we had 82 finishers. Nicky Bennett ran an incredible 1:13:54 and Angelo Doria ran 1:16:01 for two of the fastest Half Marathon times in the clubs history. Jacob eased his way round in 1:19, not wanting to overdue it before Snowdonia Marathon later in the month. Despite an unusually humid day for an October race, there were PB’s for Aled Hughes, Chris Richards. Katie Plimmer, Dawn Wright, Tammie Baker, Ben Batchelor, Judith Jeeves, Kate Atkin, Lucy Howells, Huw Jenkins and Laura Worrall.

After also pacing at Cardiff Half, Emma Loyns went on to pace 2 hours at the Royal Parks Half where Dawn Hopkins also ran. We also had an oversea’s Half Marathon with Gareth Davies running the Palma Mallorca Half whilst Sara Davies and Ben Davies ran a shortened 10K version.

Dai James ran a speedy 3:16:33 at the Chicago Marathon. Carl Walsh notched up more marathon plus events with the Swindon Ultra Trail and the Gower Ultra Bach where our July Runner of the Month, Angharad Hinam ran the Gower 50 miler just 12 weeks after her Dragon 100 mile heroics. Sarah and Dawn ran at the Grand Canal Canter Half Marathon with Dawn bagging herself a marathon PB of 5:04.

Cross Country (XC) events

October saw the return of XC as the club set out to improve attendance in the Gwent League whilst continuing the great turnouts and performances in the West Glam league.

First up was the Gwent League at Pembrey. The ladies were up first with Katie Plimmer and Dawn Hopkins running for the club. Kudos to both of them as Katie had her first marathon just 2 weeks after this event and Dawn had run 10 miles a few hours before the XC event which started early afternoon as she prepared for her marathon event. We had a few other ladies signed up but unfortunately they were caught out by the medical emergency and late start to Pontypridd parkrun that morning which meant they couldn’t make it to Pembrey on time. Angelo Doria was next up in the Men’s Under 20 race with a really strong performance which has earned him a spot on the South Wales team for the Welsh Inter-Regionals in November. Finally it was the Men’s race with 7 members of the club taking on the 9.15K course. Jacob Tasker finished an impressive 8th against some of the best XC runners in Wales including overall winner and Welsh International Dewi Griffiths. Nicky Bennett was next up followed by Steve Holloway, Niki Puleio, Scott Gray, Wayne Hayhurst and myself. The result put the men’s team 2nd overall in Division 4 whilst the ladies are 15th in Division 3.

The first fixture of the West Glam league was also at Pembrey and just a week after the Gwent league event. Despite that, and the race selling out in record time, the Sunday morning rather than Saturday afternoon start time did draw in 18 of our members with full mens and womens teams for this fixture. With Jacob sensibly resting ahead of Snowdonia Marathon, it was Nicky Bennett who was our first runner back and 6th overall. A very strong performance by our men with newly rejoining member Kyle Blackmore, Steve Holloway, John Burridge and Jamie Verran making up our scoring place with Connor Panting and Aled Hughes just seconds behind. Sarah Davies, Fiona Drysdale, Denise Bradley and Jules Esmond made up our female scorers. Between the two events, we’ve had 26 members represent the club at XC this season which is a great start and hopefully with lots more to follow.

Snowdonia Marathon / Marathon Eryri

Whilst Cardiff Half may have been the biggest event of the month in terms of runners, the entire marathon weekend for Snowdon is hard to beat in terms of one of the best events of the year. The 29 runners only make up part of the weekend with more than a dozen supporters heading to Snowdonia on the 4-5 hour trip and many staying in the same hotel in Caernarfon. Jo Pratt and Emily Harris (with support from others) set up and manned the now famous, and staple of Marathon Eryri, Phoenix Corner from well before the race start until the final runners came in.

The race itself takes on many forms for our runners. Quite a few (slightly bonkers runners in my opinion) have run their first marathons there. The vast majority run it for ‘fun’ and it’s definitely up there as one of the most scenic and friendliest marathons. We’ve had a few attempts at quick times with a handful of sub 4 hour clocking’s over the years and some super speedy performances with a 3:15 from Niki Puleio in 2017 and a 3:02 by our then multi-club-record-holder Neil Jones in 2018 – but there was a special buzz about this race with Jacob Tasker taking on the course. We wondered if he might the make the S4C coverage if he was in amongst the top few… well, yet again, he exceeded all of our expectations and lead for pretty much the entire first half of race which meant he was very much a big part of the highlights program – even giving a cheeky smile to the camera as he seemingly floated up Pen y Pass in the early stages. Jacob went on to finish 4th overall in a club record… yes, an overall club record despite it being Marathon Eryri… in 2:35:24. That’s an average of 5:56 minutes per mile on a course with well over 2000 feet of elevation. I did a bit of research and found that his time would have won it in most previous years which is absolutely unbelievable.

There was also another significant milestone and achievement being made in the race with Carl Walsh running his 100th marathon/ultra to become the first Ogmore Phoenix member to join the 100 Marathon Club. Injury and subsequent surgery meant that the milestone was much later than Carl had originally planned, however, he was delighted to line it up so that his 100th would be at that event which he’s done more times than anyone else in the club. A monumental achievement.

Back to the race results and Gareth Richards ran 3:26 for by far our fastest over 50’s time on the course. Daniel Jenkins also ran a brilliant 3:37. We had some amazing Phoenix spirit in action with our marathon/ultra queen Emma Loyns joining first time marathoner Katie Plimmer, picking up several Phoenix along the way and finishing in 4:42/4:43 with Chris Richards, Jason Griffiths and Chris Pratt all following with a few minutes. Ceri Jones completed his first marathon alongside his regular parkrun running buddy Rob Loyns in 5:11. Despite having done multiple ultras, it was finally a first marathon for Melanie Thomas who finished in 5:51. Vickie Blake was our final runner with Phoenix Corner still standing with many of our runners staying to cheer her in as she crossed the line in 7:45. Apologies I haven’t mentioned all 29 runners – well done to all of you.

Chair’s Runner’s of the Month

Seems very apt to have chosen this pairing for celebration this month.

Both performing exceptionally well on a stage that isn’t commonplace.

A first outing at a tough distance for one and only the second for the other but both making an impact on the back of an impressive training block.

Trust the process.  That phrase that many of us live by as a mantra.  It’s the work on the build up that seals the deal.  Following good practice allows us to rely on the benefits it will bring.  It gives us the best chance on the day of reaping the rewards.  When the process has been followed we must trust in it.  Hold onto the confidence it brings and tackle it head on.

26.2 miles.  It’s a long way in anyones book and the first time you take it on there is always trepidation.  All the preparations in the world will not pave the way for the day that is to come and every time you tackle it – it will be different.   Don’t respect it and it will make you pay.  Respect it and you will be rewarded with the endorphins released as the finish line is crossed and the kudos that completion brings.

For my first accolade I celebrate a first.  The first time that 26.2 miles was completed.  Not just completed, but mastered.  The groundwork prepared for success and the process led to an admirable time on a tough course.  Marathon Eryri so often has a sting in the tale for many who take it one – but provides the ultimate honour.  Pride of conquering something tough but magnificent.  An excellent time set, a proud completion trusting in a well worked and managed process.  With the utmost respect I am delighted to announce my first runner of the month for October as Katie Plimmer.  Well done Katie – a hugely admirable performance laying the groundwork for many more exciting endeavours to come.

My second almost goes without introduction.  Did you watch the TV coverage of Marathon Eryri?  Have I given it away already?  Smiles.  Waves at the camera.  Cheeky grins to the commentators riding parallel to proceedings.  Thanks to the marshals as he passed.  Not commonplace in those who lead the charge.  To lead a race of such calibre on the second tackling of the distance is incredible.  To lead it for more than half of the race is additionally incredible.  To be within a number of minutes of first place finishing and then to finish 4th, in a time that would have won it last year, is beyond incredible.  All with incredible grace and modesty.  I don’t think you will be unaware that my second choice for October runner of the month is Jacob Tasker.  Incredible.  Simply incredible.

But what I really love about this story is that both Jacob and Katie remained after they had finished the race and waited several hours until the very last Phoenix came down the hill and rounded the bend.  Not only an admirable performance for both – but with the commitment and dedication to their fellow club members to stay and cheer every single one of them home.

Both, I salute you.

parkruns

The first weekend of the month saw 69 runners across a club record of 20 different parkruns! There was an even split across Aberfields, Porthcawl and Maesteg whilst 22 members visited 17 other parkruns which included Angela Parry at Wexford Racecourse parkrun in Ireland. Jacob was first finisher at Maesteg with a 16:52.

The second weekend saw 61 runners across 16 different parkruns. With several of the Maesteg regulars heading up the Ogmore Valley to try Aberfields, it was left to Tom Mahoney to continue the clubs streak of always having at least one runner at every Maesteg parkrun since it started. Interestingly 15 of the 16 parkruns which had OPR runners were in Wales with just one marginally over the border at the Forest of Dean.

Week 3 saw 62 runners across 13 parkruns with Aberfields our most popular venue yet again both in terms of runners and volunteers and where Adam Kearns was first finisher. There was a bumper turnout for the Wales Cowfest event at Pontypridd parkrun hosted by Karl Johnson and his team – for those wondering, it was for members of the UK parkrun tourists Facebook group who have cow-print products in honour of the first person to run at 100 different parkruns – Chris COWell.

Week 4 saw us fall just short of our recent record of different parkrun venues in a single day with 77 runners across 19 different parkruns. Our three local parkruns shared 57 of our members with Nicky Bennett taking the first finishers token at Maesteg and Aled Hughes taking the first finishers token at Aberfields. Jamie Verran was also first finisher at Gloucester North making it the first time we’ve had 3 first finishers on a single parkrun day. Kierran Spiers celebrated their 50th parkrun with their home parkrun of Riverfront being the venue for the milestone. Some interesting tourist venues that weekend with Karen Dando at Medina on the Isle of Wight. Then Sarah Davies, Melanie Thomas and Dawn Hopkins had a fun trip to Belfast to pick up another Q for the parkrun alphabet with Dawn now not far off completing the challenge twice and Sarah only a few behind. Dai James was even further afield finishing second overall at Clermont Waterfront parkrun which is by far our most visited USA parkrun due to it’s proximity to Disney World – although I’m sure those who’ve done it will want me to point out it’s still a 40 minutes of so drive from Disney.

The final Saturday of the month saw 64 runners across 15 parkruns. Not too many PB attempts with Cardiff Half Marathon the next day although Jamie Verran did run close to his parkrun PB with a 18:58 at Groe. Sarah, Mel and Dawn were off on their tourism travels again with University Parks the venue this time. Nick Harris broke his streak of doing every Aberfields parkrun to date by running at Queen Elizabeth parkrun in Portsmouth, leaving Laura Worrall as the only club member to run the first 7 Aberfields parkruns. I believe there’s possible one or two others that have either volunteered or ran at all 7 so have been at all in some capacity as well.

Races

10K’s

September is always a big month for 10K running with both Cardiff and Swansea bookending the month. At Cardiff we had 26 members running with an impressive 9 PB’s which included a sub 40 for Wayne Hayhurst plus PB’s for Adam Kearns, Claire DB, Lee DB, Steph IH, Terri-Leigh, Paul Harris, Karen Dando and Julie Greenman. At Swansea we had 13 runners with 3 PB’s including an incredible 33:23 from Nicky Bennett. Adam Kearns notched up his second PB of the month and dipped under 40 minutes for the first time whilst Jamie Verran got a PB of 42:17.

Away from the super fast flat road 10K’s, Kris Denholm ran the Hillbilly 10K and we had an impressive 17 runners at the Llantwit 10K which takes in some of the coastal path.

Marathons and Ultras

Carl Walsh had another busy month starting off with the RIDUM which is a 30 ultra marathon hosted by Pegasus events company along the Rhymney Valley Ridgeway. He was joined by Danny Ridley and Antonio Antoniazzi in completing that event. Carl and Danny also Beacons to Blacks Marathon with an eye watering 8,000 feet of elevation which is close to the equivalent of climbing from the railway station to the summit of Snowdon three times!

Ken Salvatore was in Berlin to take on one of the Marathon Majors and absolutely smashed it with a PB of 3:55:12 running in the same race where the women’s world record was set and following in the steps of Eliud Kipchoge. Rosie signed up for volunteer duties on the day making her possibly our first international running volunteer.

Seven weeks after my Dragon 100 mile finish, some last minute changes of plans meant I was available for the Loop-a-thon event hosted by Albany Road Runners. I did this charity event last year when they ran it for the first time and finished on 50 miles (by my watch) having run 16 loops of the 5K course around Roath Park and the lake. Just like last year, it was scorching on the day but I exceeded my expectations to get one more lap in this time finishing on 53 miles after 11 hours and 11 minutes before I decided to call it a day.

Other Races

We had a rare 10 mile event in the month with Chris Pratt, Denise Bradley and Dawn Hopkins heading to Oldbury for the 10 miler that forms part of series of events in that area.

There were several Half Marathons in the month with 8 members taking on the hilly multi terrain Pumsaint course where Jacob Tasker smashed the previous course record with a 1:18:48. Emma Loyns was the 2 hour pacer at the Big Half. Wayne Hayhurst and Gail Newell were our only runners at Llanelli HM which is by far our lowest attendance at the event but did clash with several other events and was just a week before Cardiff Half.

We had 9 runners at the Roman Run with many using the 16 mile course as a perfect training race ahead of Snowdonia / Eryri Marathon. A week later saw another chance to train on the hills with the Beast of Bryn. We had 5 runners in the 7.5 mile event whilst we had 10 runners in the 15 miler where Jacob bagged himself another course record as he continues his preperations for Snowdon.

Back on the flat, speedy tarmac, we had 14 members head down to West Wales for the Welsh Road Relay Championships. Nicky Bennett, Toby Kearns, Josh Parry and Angelo Doria teamed up for the Senior Men’s A Team finishing as 19th team overall in an extremely competitive event. Adam Kearns, Jamie Verran, Max King and Emyr Bissmire formed a super fast ‘B’ Team finishing as the 26th team. However, the ladies did even better with Bethan Moor, Jules Esmond, Carys Cronin and Willow Hughes finishing 13th team in the Senior Women. Gareth Richards and Chris Richards were part of what should have been a 3 person Masters team but someone who will remain nameless was a no show but the boys still got to set a time regardless.

BCRL

The final BCRL event saw us head down to Merthyr Mawr Lane for an out and back 5K down to Candlestone car park and back. An excessive amount of reminders resulted in an incredible turnout of 102 OPR members running the event. Our third biggest attendance ever and biggest since 2019. With other clubs also turning up in big numbers, we still needed big performances from our top 10 men and women and they absolutely delivered. Jacob added another BCRL victory with a time of 15:36 meaning that with OPR members had a clean sweep of having the overall winner in every fixture for the second year in a row. August’s runner of the month Angelo Nico Doria ran a PB of 16:30 whilst there were also PB’s for Lee Dunbar-Bowen and Paul Harris. Another strong performance from our top 10 men and women alongside the incredible turnout resulted in our club retaining our BCRL club title after a close fought battle throughout the year with Bridgend and Porthcawl regularly in the mix as well. A huge well done to everyone who participated this year.

Chair’s Runners of the Month

The unsung heroes.  The ones who head out of the door even when life puts obstacles in their way.  Many of us feel that too and so often we empathise.

Running is a healer; a way to keep the body fresh.  Exercise releases endorphins which are known to be big stress relievers and improvers of well-being, and we thrive on what they provide – the balance.

The battle between the pressures that weigh us down and finding the desire to exercise is very real to many of us.  Motivation often ebbs away and that all-important mojo, to which we refer, departs.

Climbing that hill can be a big challenge.  The hill that exists in our minds down the passageway to the front door.  It doesn’t require trail shoes or poles – it’s not a lung buster that tests our legs to carry us over the top.  It’s a feeling.  It’s a desire.  The pressures of life replace gravity and it takes all our inner strength to reach the top to be able to benefit from the slope on the other side that leads us to the front door and beyond.

I’ve been inspired by many over the last few years who have battled that mountain and found the way the other side.  We have seen challenges the likes of which none of us knew how to deal with and we, as a group, have done wonders to pull each other together.  Reaching out and looking out for each other.  It’s what we do.  Please keep doing it.

Sorry for rambling but I want to celebrate two people who have inspired me hugely this year for their endeavours.  

My first is such a core element of our club with a true heart of gold.  I’ve seen the ebbs and flows in her running and seen her determination that brings her back to it every time it falls away. Trying to find the right path to maintaining motivation and staying out there.  Helping others often does that and self-driven recent incentives have lit the fire under others to come back into the fold searching for the same end goal – to return to running.  A selfless contribution that has had the effect it so often does – self motivation.  Give and you will receive back – often tenfold – or more.  Providing the mechanism for others to find their way back onto the path ignites the flame to keep going.  I’ve seen the troughs and ridden them with her and I’m seeing the peaks outweigh them now.  So often we are unaware of the inspiration we are imparting on others.  Many will never know the impact they have – so often silently made – on the journey of others.  It is this that is pure magic.  We have many within our midst who cast that magic powder – but this month I want to celebrate my first Chair’s Runner of the Month as Siân Jenkins.  Keep inspiring Siân and keep getting out there and showing the world the power of running!

My second choice for this month has been a true inspiration in so many ways.  Just finding the strength to lace up the trainers and head out of the door has been a very real challenge, but with the support of a great friend and that of family and the wider circle of friends, he has done just that.  Trainers to run.  Helmet and bike to cycle.  Signing up for races so the challenge will draw him out.  Giving him a target to head for.  Keeping the body active with training miles and parkruns and heading to start lines of races – each of which results in another finish line crossed and another boost.  It’s on the increase too.  More miles are being covered – with positive outcomes.  More consistency and planning heading towards goals being set.  Utilising the healing power of activity to keep pushing forward and gaining balance.  Not only hugely inspired by the endeavours of this choice for my Chair’s Runner of the Month, but those who remain close and keep encouraging this journey to flourish.  My choice is Paul Harris.  Paul, you have inspired us all with your determination, keep it going my friend.  We are all very proud of you.